1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a digital camera, a customer authentication communication terminal equipment, and an encoded image service system. Specifically, the present invention relates to a system which manages a digital camera which photographs an encoded image and a customer who uses it, and, in addition, to a service system which processes an image signal photographed by the customer.
2. Description of the Related Art
The digital camera becomes widely spread instead of the silver film camera in recent years. However, the sales price of the digital camera is more expensive than that of the silver camera in general. For that, to achieve a further spread of the digital camera, the circulation system and the production system is disclosed. In this system, the digital camera to which the photographed image cannot be read is sold or is lent out cheaply and the main body of the digital camera is collected and the print service is performed as well as the film with the lens (see Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 2000-228740). The digital camera has means for recording the photographed image in the memory fixed in the main body, and limiting the access from the external device of the digital camera to the memory. In addition, since the user cannot exchange or charge the battery, it is impossible to use the camera any more when the battery is finished. This system is a system which tries to establish the camera recycling system by depending on such limitations. It is necessary to collect the digital cameras to the service center in order to output the photographed image signal. Therefore, the time required until a print output of the photographed image and the electronic image data are obtained is the same level as the print service of a silver camera. Therefore, an acquisition of the image data and an immediacy of the print output which is the maximum feature of the digital camera are ruined very much.
On the other hand, it is extremely easy to make the reproduction of the digital image signal if the digital image signal photographed by the digital camera can be accessed. Then, to prevent the stranger from illegally reproducing the photograph digital image signal, the digital camera system which records the encoded image signal by an RSA encoding method which is one of asymmetric code is disclosed (see Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 11-205738).
The digital camera consumes a lot of electric powers compared with the silver camera. Therefore, when the photographing is performed by carrying the digital camera to a long-term travel, it is necessary to carry the battery charger and/or a lot of exchange batteries.
Many owners of the digital camera have the personal computer device (Hereafter, called as a “PC”). It seems that, since the digital camera spreads rapidly, establishment of the peculiar service system to the digital camera such as postprocessing of the photographed image, the high picture quality prints, and the image data storage is late compared with that of the silver camera.
It seems that it becomes possible for the user who does not have the PC easily to use the digital camera by the method of Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 2000-228740, and some of the above-mentioned problem can be solved.
However, since the user of the digital camera is not specified in the method of Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 2000-228740, it is difficult to reclaim the digital camera. In addition, there is fear that the collected digital camera damages or is out of order. It is preferable to manufacture the digital camera cheaply to decrease such a risk as little as possible. However, it is difficult to obtain the photographed image with high picture quality by the recycling digital camera designed by cutting the manufacturing cost as low as possible. Recycle processing of the digital camera differs from simple recycling processing of the film with the lens, and in addition, needs a technical difficulty is high, and a large sum of running cost is required because of the preparation for expensive exchange parts etc. It is forecast that it is extremely difficult to set the price of the digital camera for recycling cheaply realistically from such a respect.